The Moonlight Marauders
by happyday girl
Summary: When the guys find out about Remus's 'little problem' they react in a way that Remus never expected. Maruaders freindship only. maruaders era. Ihope you like my little rhyme at the end!
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER I don't own Harry Potter, but if I did, I would keep Hogwarts all to myself!

It was a week before the full moon. James potter was in a constant state of nervous excitement, as was Sirius black. Peter Pettigrew, on the other hand, was terrified. All in the month up to this point, he was fine, but now the time had actually come, he was tense, scared, and had developed a nervous twitch. Remus lupin, however, was just as he had always been, morose, amused and nervous. When he had told his three dearest friends about his 'furry little problem' he had fully expected them to break friends with him, and never speak to him again. But they didn't. James had laughed, slapped Sirius on the back and exclaimed in a gleeful voice, 'told you!'

Sirius had been quiet, but supportive, and now they were back being the best friends they always were. Peter however reacted in just the way that Remus had expected him to. When he had sat them down and told them all, Peter had let out a little terrified squeak and hid in their dormitory. Once he had obviously thought more about it, guessed Remus, he had tottered back down the stone steps to the common room and told him that he was fine with it, 'It was just a bit of a shock' he had said.

Now it was nearing the full moon, Remus prepared to leave again, packing his bags and whatnot. Just as he was about to climb through the portrait door, he was confronted with two serious looking boys, blocking his way, with their arms crossed across their chests. 'And where' asked Sirius in a dark voice, 'do you think your going?' Remus looked at them both and shrugged. To him, it seemed obvious. 'I'm going away, aren't I? To...transform' he said shiftily. It was all rather new, explaining his condition to others. James sighed and patted Remus on the shoulder. 'You don't have to anymore loony lupin!' he said with a grin. Remus looked at them both, not sure what he meant. 'Er...yes I do. I can hardly do it here in the castle, can I?'

It was a rhetorical question, laced with sarcasm. The two boys looked at him, then shook their heads slowly, James deflated slightly. 'There goes our idea, doesn't it Sirius?' he said to the other boy. Sirius smirked, and then shifted into poker face mode. 'It sure does prongs. Ah no, what are we going to do?' Remus raised an eyebrow. James giggled. 'Don't worry Remus, we have thought of everything! We have got front row passes to...the shrieking shack!' he said, arms raised as if expecting a hug. Remus didn't hug him. He was quite confused.

'The shrieking shack? That's in Hogsmede. I'm not going into Hogsmede. We'll all get caught.' James gasped, and looked at him as if he had said something gravely wrong.

'My dear moony, what about the invisibility cloak? We can all fit under that! And I have found a shortcut!'

Remus again looked at him as though he were stupid. 'Oh yeah? Were?' he said.

James cleared his throat and said with a smile. 'The whomping willow of course!'


	2. Chapter 2

'I've got a bad feeling about this guys'. Remus whispered as he was yet again stepped on by Sirius. 'Aw come on reeemsy' cajoled James, who was in front leading the way, under his invisibility cloak. Him, Sirius, lupin and Peter were all under the cloak, making their way slowly but surely out of the castle and into the grounds. They spotted Rubeus Hagrid by the forbidden forest, probably messing around with some creature or other, thought James. 'Sometimes I worry about that boy' comment Sirius as they walked on, past the greenhouses and to a bare area of green.

On top of a small hill, stood a mighty tree. It was knarled and old. It also quivered in the breeze. This tree was known to poke people's eyes out when it was annoyed, and they had once been told a very nasty story by Professor Snape about a new Hogwarts teacher that had thought the story of the whomping willow was a joke. He had gone up to the tree with his wand raised, and sent a fire spell into the trunk. Needless to say; he wasn't there to give his divination class their lesson the next morning. That particular story had given peter nightmares for weeks.

'Ok then, smart arse, now what?' grinned Remus, looking at James. James merely winked, and prodded peter. Peter gave a small smile. He then transformed into his animagus. A rat. He picked up the long hard stick that James had surreptitiously dropped by the tree during his lunch break in his mouth, and bounded towards the whomping willow. He prodded a special knot in the tree, and the tree fell still. 'Wow' was all that Remus could say. He had expected Peter to be knocked about, but to his surprise, it actually worked. He was impressed to say the least.

'Come Remmy' smiled Sirius, prodding his back to make him move forward, 'I'm getting a cold todger here!' Remus laughed, and carried on walking. He still felt nervous. He wanted to do this by himself. He didn't want to hurt his friends. They took off the cloak just before entering the tree, and they walked up the old steps leading to the front room of the shrieking shack. The four of them stood in silence for a while, just looking around the room. 'So' said Sirius, breaking the ice. 'What are we going to do now?'

'Well' said Remus, 'you three can just leave me here now, thanks. I'll see you tomorrow'. James looked at him, and then shook his head. 'Nah ah! That's not going to work on us. We said we'd come with you and stay with you didn't we? Don't want you to do this all on your own. That's why we became animagi! Isn't it?' he glanced at Sirius, who nodded enthusiastically. Remus gave a sickly smile at the two of them, and then shrugged. 'I don't want to hurt you lot' he said quietly to his shoes. When he looked up again, he couldn't see any of his friends. In their places stood a stag, a black dog and a rat. Remus looked around himself, as if embarrassed. 'guys, you don't have to....' he started to say, but the black dog came up to him, put his paws on his shoulders, and gave his face a hard push with his nose. 'Sirius! That hurt!' he said reproachfully, rubbing his cheek. Sirius gave a short, sharp bark. Remus sighed. 'Oh very well' he said, and he sat down.

'Let's just wait for the moon to arrive then shall we?'


	3. Chapter 3

'Any minute now guys' sighed Remus, looking out of the large, glassless window in the living room. The moon was just peeping out from a fuzz of large cloud in the distance. Remus had made himself as comfortable as possible, sitting on the small settee on one side of the room, whilst instructing the other's to stay as far in the opposite side of the room as possible. As the moon began to shift into its position, Remus took a deep breath. 'Now for the painful bit' he said, more to himself than to anyone else. He looked at his friends, and they looked back, eyes full of support. As the light of Luna burst in through the room, Remus closed his eyes.

The transformation was immediate. His eyes shot open as burning pain ravaged his body. First his eyes turned from their normal blue (and greeny bits as James had told him whilst poring deep into his eyes for a divination lesson) to yellow with a big, deep black pupil. Next his face began to change shape. He cheeks became more sunken and his chin widened and grew downwards. Remus was beginning to make whimpering noises, like a dog, and he suddenly stood up, making Peter the rat squeak and run behind Sirius the dog. His body began to get longer and musclier, and his bare feet grew, the heels getting much longer than they should. His toenails became long and sharp, and his clothes ripped off him as his torso began to change shape. There wasn't a lot of hair, thought James the stag as he watched. His arms grew and Sirius noted his fingers; they were each the same shape. Next, his face morphed into a more recognisable shape of a werewolf. His teeth grew and he began to growl and make curious barking noises. In one final ear deafening howl from Remus, it was over.

Sirius watched his friend with an air of curiosity, but also fear. He made sharp yapping sounds to make sure than Remus knew that they were still here. Remus turned towards them, eyes full of confusion and hatred. He doesn't recognise us, thought James with a jolt of panic. Sirius padded towards Remus, but James made a funny little whinnying sound to warn him off. Sirius looked at James and lowered his head, showing that he understood. He then continued on his way to Remus, who was beginning to make low, warning sounds from the base of his throat. Sirius knew what that meant all right. _Come near me and I will hurt you_. Sirius stopped and lowered his head again, this time to show the werewolf and his friend that he meant no harm. Remus didn't seem to understand, and took this movement as a sign that the black dog in front of him was going to attack. He launched himself at the dog, and Sirius had now choice. The two fought, jaws hitting each other as they battled for each other's lives. Sirius barked and growled as loud as he could, to scare the werewolf, but Remus just made louder, and admittedly, more scarier noises. Sirius scratched deep into Remus's face and chest, and he finally let go of him. Sirius's head was bleeding, and Remus was cut on his chest, face and neck.

Remus must have decided that enough was enough, and bounded off into the next room. This time, Sirius didn't follow. He padded to where James stood, and began to lick himself clean, whilst James the stag gently cleaned his bleeding his with his tongue

They stayed in their separate rooms until the sun came up the next morning. James, Sirius and peter looked at each other when they had transformed back into boys, and Sirius shrugged, massaging his head with his hand. He walked over to the settee that Remus had sat on, and pulled out a bag from under it. 'Remus's clothes' he said simply to his friends questioning stares. Of course, thought peter, he would be naked, as he had 'shed' his clothes last night. James and Sirius slowly walked to the room that Remus was presumably in, with peter not far behind them. Sirius opened the door a bit. 'Remus? I've got your clothes here, I'll throw them in shall i?' he asked the room at large, as he could not see his friend.

'Thank you Sirius' came a croaky reply from behind the door. Sirius, overcome by the need to see if his friend was all right, ignored basic privacy and walked into the room, and closed the door. He gasped when he saw Remus. He had a huge cut down his forehead which ended on his jaw. He was bleeding and shaking as he pulled on his trousers that James had handed him. 'Remus, I- I'm so...' Sirius began, but Remus cut him off, 'sorry? No Sirius, I should be the one saying sorry, I hurt you bad, and for that I can never forgive myself.' Remus began to cry, spluttering and whimpering, and Sirius embraced him in a gentle hug, letting Remus cry on his shoulder. Peter wiped his nose and sniffed. James had tears in his eyes as he saw the pain that both his dear friends had to go through. After a while Sirius and Remus parted. 'All right?' asked Sirius softly asked Remus. Remus nodded and sniffed, wiping his nose on Sirius's shoulder. Sirius barked a huge laugh, and gently led Remus out of the room.

'so, your not coming with me next time then I'm guessing' noted Remus as they walked to the opening of the whomping willow. 'Are you kidding?' exclaimed James. 'That was better than doing homework any night! And it helps you!' Remus wasn't sure.

Remus looked at Sirius, as it had been Sirius he had physically hurt. Sirius looked at him, and then did something Remus certainly wasn't expecting. He beamed at him. A big, toothy beam. 'I'm coming with you no matter what reeemsy! Don't worry about us we'll be fine, it'll be you were looking after, not the other way around!'

Remus looked at all his friends, and their wide, adamant smiled.

'You guys are the best friends a guy could ever wish for.' He told them, and they laughed. They climbed from the tree into the grounds.

And then got ready for their day.

Potions- hooray!


End file.
